


Two Hearts, One Heartbeat

by writingbychelle



Category: Nikolai Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 18:10:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20430254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingbychelle/pseuds/writingbychelle
Summary: Keeping the relationship between you and Isaak a secret was already hard enough but as Nikolai vanishes without a trace and Isaak has to take over the role of the King it becomes almost impossible.





	Two Hearts, One Heartbeat

A thin layer of sweat covered your skin as you snuggled against the slightly damp body of your boyfriend, your breath slowly returning back to normal as your fingers began tracing random patterns on Isaak’s chest. The guard pressed his lips against the top of your head, tightening his arms around your waist at the same time while you both tried to enjoy the rare moments of silence. None of your friends knew about your relationship with the former soldier, Saints, not even Genya had figured it out and usually she was the first one to detect traces of romance between the people near her. Maybe it was the fact that the Grisha Triumvirate and the people surrounding your King were too preoccupied with trying to restore Ravka after the Civil War, or maybe your friend was just distracted by her husband but you liked to think that your _phenomenal_ acting skills kept you from getting caught. Truly, it was a miracle no one had seen Isaak sneak in and out of your room at night, the stolen kisses after you informed Nikolai you had to discuss something with the guards, telling him to already go ahead just for you to be pressed against the nearest wall with your boyfriend’s arms wrapped around you.

“Do you think we should tell them?” you turned your head to look at Isaak, his brown eyes softening as he gazed at you.

“I’m ready if you are, my love. We just have to consider what might happen and how people will react. A powerful Grisha, one of the most trusted advisers of the King, being in a relationship with a simple guard…I doubt many people will agree with this.”

You tilted your head so you were able to press a quick kiss against Isaak’s lips, your hand sliding up towards his jaw, your touch light and soft, “We don’t have to tell anyone right away. I could test the waters to see what people would think? At some point, I’d like at least our close friends to know, I’m sure they wouldn’t judge…”

“And if they do, you could always stop their hearts or make their lungs collapse,” Isaak suggested with a cheeky grin on his face, causing you to chuckle.

“I’m a Healer, not a Heartrender, my love.”

Keeping your relationship hidden became a lot harder once Isaak had to take over the role of Nikolai as the King of Ravka. Since Nikolai and Zoya vanished without a trace while trying to find a way to get rid of his…sickness in the Shadow Fold. You had tried to sneak into the chamber that belonged to the King, now occupied by your boyfriend, several times but one of the twins, Tolya and Tamar, seemed to always be situated in front of the big double doors, making it impossible for you to spend at least some moments in privacy with Isaak. To say you were getting annoyed by this would’ve been an understatement. You were getting aggregated, your body tense and your skin tingling at every moment you had to spend separated from the man you loved. The fact that Genya came up with the idea of Isaak spending more time with Princess Ehri of Shu Han only worsened your mood even more, so much, in fact, that even David had noticed as you let yourself fall into the chair next to him while he was hunched over his notebook, scribbling and drawing new inventions into it.

“You seem stressed out, (Y/N). What’s going on?” he looked up shortly before going back to his notebook, his hand moving quickly across the page but you could tell that he was still listening even if he didn’t look like it.

“Besides the fact that Nikolai is gone and we’re basically driving Ravka to ruins? Nothing much…” you trailed off, fumbling with the cup of tea in front of you.

“I know it doesn’t look good but we’ll manage this,” David tried to cheer you up, carefully placing his hand on your shoulder and giving it a soft squeeze before he lost himself in his work once again.

“Thanks, David,” you mumbled before standing up again, grabbing your mug as you walked out of the small room to get some fresh air before you were to go back into the palace to make sure your boyfriend wouldn’t mess up while talking with any of the important people that had come to the party.

Parties had never been something you really looked forward to, so you completely understood Isaak for wanting to get away as soon as possible from the loud music, the drinking and feasting, and from all those people that wanted to talk to the King. You felt sorry for your boyfriend, you truly did, and you could only hope that Nikolai and Zoya would resurface as soon as possible so they could take over again and allow you some alone time with the brown-haired man you loved. But even though the current situation wasn’t ideal, you still had to admit that Isaak was doing an amazing job at pretending to be Nikolai. Saints, you couldn’ve sworn being in a different skin made your boyfriend more confident, much to your amusement.

Raising your cup to your lips you took a small sip, letting the warm liquid heat your body from the inside, while your feet carried to towards the conservatory when you heard a familiar shout in front of you, coming directly from where you were headed. Quickly you sped up your pace, clutching the cup in your hands so tight you might’ve crushed if it wouldn’t have fallen from your hands the second you stepped into the conservatory, the scene before you causing your body to freeze, the cup slowly slipping from your fingers and falling to the pavement underneath your feet. Almost instantly everyone seemed to stop their shouting and turned to look at you, Tamar who knelt beside the Shu princess with a dagger sticking from her chest, Genya with tears running down her face as her husband David held her close, Tolya, Zoya and Nikolai, the real Nikolai, who was wearing what seemed to be prisoner’s clothes, stood around another body laying on the floor, a pool of blood covering the floor around the man who looked so very much like the king.

“Isaak?” you choked out, your mouth going slack as tears filled your eyes.

You felt like you couldn’t breath, your chest tightening with every intake of air, like a python had wrapped itself around you and was tightening around your body every time you tried to take a breath while your heart beat frantically in your chest. It was as if the world came to a stop, everything around you blurring as your eyes settled on Isaak’s body on the cold, grey floor when you took a careful step forward, almost as if you were afraid he would disintegrate right in front of your eyes. Seeing his motionless body still on the floor, the stillness of his chest, you couldn’t help but fly forward, collapsing on your knees as you buried your face in the place where his shoulder met his neck, your arms lifting his limp body up as you pressed him against you.

“No. No, no, no, no, please…,” you sobbed out, salty tears stinging in your eyes before they rolled don’t your cheeks.

You didn’t notice Tolya and Nikolai taking a step back, you didn’t notice that Genya stopped crying, you didn’t notice the tears that ran down your face and wet Isaak’s clothes or the sticky blood that coated your hands, all you noticed was the faint heartbeat in his chest, your healing abilities gripping tight onto it as a warm feeling spread through your body, setting your every nerve alight while Isaak’s heartbeat seemed to grow stronger and stronger with every passing moment.

Almost as if nothing had happened Isaak let out a gasp, sitting up after he opened his eyes, blinking in confusion as he took in his surroundings before his gaze settled in your tear-streaked face.

“(Y/N)? What happened, my love?”

Without answering him you just crashed forward, connecting your lips with his as your blood-covered hands tangled themselves in his soft hair, leaving red streaks through it. A sob of relief tore itself from the back of your throat, ripping you away from Isaak before you leaned your forehead against his, the feeling of being reunited with the man you loved pushing your fatigue away from the forefront.

Carefully your boyfriend reached up, his hands cupping your cheeks as his thumbs wiped away the tears that were covering your cheeks, the touch prompting you to finally open your eyes again, just to look into his, which sadly enough still looked like Nikolai’s.

“I hate to ruin this moment but…does anyone mind explaining this?” Nikolai gestured to Isaak and you, both of you sitting on the floor before you slowly got up, offering a hand to your boyfriend and pulling him to his feet.

Still wobbly and weak, Isaak leaned against you for support, you arm instinctively wrapping itself around his waist to keep him steady.

“I second that,” Genya said while trying to keep a smirk from forming on her lips, ultimately failing with her attempt though.

“Yeah, about that…” you trailed off, “We’ve been together for a while now but we just…we wanted to tell you but there never seemed to be an appropriate moment to break the news.”

“It’s good to see you back, Nikolai,” Isaak tried to grin at his old friend but let out a wince as he did.

“You should sit down, Isaak,” Nikolai stepped over to where you were standing, pushing Isaak down into a chair while shooting a teasing smirk in your direction together with a quick wriggle of his eyebrows which you answered with a roll of your eyes.

You already knew your King would never let you live down the fact that you, a powerful Grisha Healer who had the dream of becoming a princess when she was a child, ended up falling for a simple guard such as Isaak, who just so happened to be a good friend of Nikolai as well.

After discussing how to proceed from where you found yourself at, Isaak and you were left alone in the conservatory with Genya, who was surprisingly quick to restore the way your boyfriend looked before she had turned him into Nikolai.

“It’s good to see your actual face again,” you chuckled slightly once Genya left to deal with the guests until everyone would meet up with you again.

“It feels good to be in my own skin, too,” Isaak mumbled, his eyes drifting off as if he seemed deep in thought.

“Isaak? Is everything alright?”

“I…I could’ve died, (Y/N). You saved my life,” he said as turned to look at you, tears shining in his eyes.

Shaking your head softly, you reached up to press your hands against his cheeks and pull him forward into a quick kiss, “I did what anyone in my position would’ve done.”

“I love you,” you boyfriend blurted out, clasping your hands tightly in his as he spoke those meaningful three words for the first time.

“I love you, too,” you mumbled out before moving forward to connect your lips with Isaak’s, his hands tangled in your hair as he pulled you closer, a soft sigh escaping you as you silently thanked the Saints that you had the conservatory to yourselves for the next two hours.


End file.
